Centrifugal separator



April 5, 1960 E. P. TROLAND 2,931,504

CENTRIFUGAL SEPARATOR Filed May 23, 1956 CENTRIFUGAL SEPARATOR Edwin P. Troland, Hingham, Mass, assignor to Bird Machine Company, South Walpole, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application May 23, 1956, Serial No. 586,704

6 Claims. (Cl. 209-==211) in handling scrap paper and textile waste such as' string, yarn, thread, or scrap fabric, it is necessary preparatory to reclaiming operations to separate from it as thoroughly as possible all foreign materials such as dirt,

pieces of metal, glass, etc., and any other trash that may have become mixed with it. Since most of the undesirable trash has a greater specific gravity than paper or textile scrap, it has been found that effective cleaning of such scrap can be accomplished by forming a slurry or suspension of the scrap in a fluid such as water then passing the suspension through a centrifugal separator of the cyclone type.

()ne object of the present invention is to provide a centrifugal separator of durable and economical construciion adapted to clean such scrap effectively.

Another object is to provide an improved valve and trap construction for such a separator.

Other and further objects will be apparent from the drawing and from the description which follows.

in the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation, partly broken away and in section, of one embodiment of the present invention; and

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the embodiment shown in Fig. l. v

In the embodiment shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the device includes a chamber 10 having a generally circular crosssecti-onal configuration, the upper portion of which is generally cylindrical and provided with a conical extension 12 at its lower end. Chamber 10 is supported ona plurality of angle iron leg members 14, 14 which are secured to chamber 10 by any suitable means as by welding. Adjacent the upperend of chamber 10 is provided an inlet 16 for the fluid suspension of solid material which is to be treated, inlet 16 being tangential to the wall of chamber 10.

Also adjacen't'the upper end of chamber 10 and disposed centrally thereof is a main outlet 18 for the fluid suspension from which the undesirable trash has been separated. Outlet 18 extends through the upper closed end of chamber 10 preferably to a point below inlet 16, as shown in Fig. 1. At the opposite end of the chamher there is provided a second outlet at the apex of conical extension 12, this outletpermitting passage of the trash separated from the fluid suspension. 7

Mounted below chamber 10 and conical extension 12 and communicating therewith through the second outlet at the apex of the conical extension is a trap 20 having an exit aperture in its lower end provided with a closure 22 which can be actuated manually to and from an open and closed position by means of toggle arm 24. Means for flushing trap 29 is provided in the form of an inlet 26 and outlet 28 through which water or other flushing fluid may be passed.

rates Patent ice In order to close off trap 20 from chamber 10 and conical extension 12 there is provided valve 30 of the direct acting type having a yieldable sealing gasket 32 of rubber-like material mounted around its periphery. Valve 30 is mounted for movement within chamber 10 and conical extension 12 along the axis thereof to and from open and closed position. Means for actuating valve 30 is provided in the form of a pneumatic or hydraulic cylinder 34 and piston 36, valve 39 being connected to piston 36 by means of connecting rod 38. Cylinder 34 is mounted within a generally circular housing 40 which is supported within chamber 10 by means of three equi-spaced hollow tubular struts or legs 42, 42 through one of which the supply lines 44, 46 for the pressure fluid for actuating piston 36 may conveniently be led. Control valve 48 for controlling the flow of pressure fluid to cylinder 34 is mounted on one of angle iron legs 14 externally of chamber 10.

In order to control the flow of fluid suspension within chamber 10 and to minimize the pressure differential at the outlet closed by valve 30, a conical bafile 50 of generally circular configuration is mounted above the valve and fixedly secured to housing 40 within chamber 10. In order to provide the desired minimum pressure differential between chamber 10 and trap 20 it is essential that baffle 5t) have a diameter at least as great as the diameters of any of the outlets from chamber 10, outlet 18 and the outlet into trap 20. Furthermore, in order to provide for the desired flow of fluid suspension within chamber 10 and to permit eflfective separation of trash from the suspension, it is essential that bathe 50 be spaced from the wall of chamber 10 by a distance equal to at least one-tenth the diameter of said chamber.

In operation of the device, valve 30 is maintained in the open position as shown in Fig. 1 while closure 22 is in the closed position, trap 20 being filled with water. The stream of fluid suspension of scrap material is then introduced under pressure through inlet 16, the stream descending spirally within chamber 10, forming a vortex within the chamber. Portions of the stream involute or turn inwardly upon themselves at all points below outlet 18 and above baffle 50 to rise upwardly through the center of chamber 10 and pass outwardly through main outlet 18. Because of the centrifugal forces developed by the vortex and its reversal of flow, the heavier pieces of trash are thrown outwardly and fall, through the outlet beneath valve 30, accumulating in trap 20. When suflicient trash has accumulated in trap 20, valve 30 is closed by actuating control valve 48. Fixed bafile 50 not only facilitates the opening and closing of valve 30 by protecting or shielding it from the upward pressure developed by the vortex but also tends to stabilize the vortex and to prevent changes in the flow pattern and/or velocity during opening and closing of the valve.

After closing valve 30, if it is desired to drain the fluid from trap 20 before opening closure 22, this may be done with outlet pipe 28; in any case, closure 22 is opened for a short time to permit discharged of the trash from trap 29. During the closing of closure 22, a stream of water is introduced through pipe 26 to flush the interior of trap 20 and remove any remaining small particles of trash which failed to fall out through the exit aperture at the bottom of the trap. This wash water also cleans the seating face of closure 22. When trap 20 has been thoroughly washed or flushed, closure 22 and outlet 28 are closed, permitting the trap to fill with water. As soon as the trap has been filled, valve 30 is again opened by actuating control valve 48, and any trash which has been accumulated on the upper surface of valve 30 while it has been closed for the short time necessary to empty trap 20 readily slides off the sloping conical upper face of valve 30 and passes through the outlet into the trap.

aceless.

'It is unnecessary to interrupt the flow of fluid suspension through inlet 16 or outlet'18 at anytime, the construction and arrangement of fixed baffle 50, valve 30 and trap 20 facilitating removal of trash at any desired intervals without interruption of the operation of the device.

It will be noted that in the normal operating condition with valve 30 open, the valve stemis fully housed within surrounding casing of substantial diameter. This has been found to be advantageous in that a-smalldiameter part extending longitudinally of the'chamber, as the valve stem, is apt in time to become wrapped'and fouled with string or stringy waste due to the rotation of the waste suspensio'nabout the axis. of the chamber. It will alsobe observed that the particular. valve arrangement shown provides, when the valve 30 i's open, :in effect a second baffle, the valveitself having a 'diameterbetween that of the main baffleSOand thatofithenutlet into. the

may besubstituted to advantage for-the: open' valve 30 in case a rotary or other type valve is-used. Itshould be noted, however, that a direct acting valve of the type shown is preferred since it provides an automatic safety feature. Baffle t) effectively shields valve 30 from the action of the vortex when valve 30 is in the closed position, so that substantial downward pressure is provided to keep valve 30 closed when closure22 is open. By suitable choice of the size of piston 36and of'the working pressure of the actuating'fluid within cylinder 34, it will be impossible to open valve 30 until closure22'has been closed and trap 20 has been at least partly filled with water from pipe 26 to increase the pressure on the bottom of valve 30 above atmospheric pressure.

The location of the main bafiie 50 just above the sh'ort conical base portion 12 of-the chamber is preferred, although not essential. to; preventany substantial outfiow'toward outlet 18 from the conical base'portion of' the chamber beneath as it blocks the upward flow portion o'fthe vortex.

Although specific embodiments of the invention have been described herein, it is not intended to limit the invention solely thereto, but to include all of the obvious variations and modifications within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I'claim:

1. A centrifugal separator for separatingsolid material from a fluid suspension thereofcomprising anelongated chamberhaving a circular. cross-sectionalconfiguration, an;inlet adjacentone. end of said c'hambentangential to the wall thereof for introducing a. stream of said fluid suspension, .21 first outlet for the solid material separated from said suspension at the end .ofsaid cham-, ber opposite the inlet end, said chamber having a por tion of conical configuration at the end opposite the inlet end, a secondoutlet for fluid suspension opposite said first outlet, a valve'member for closing said first outlet, and a fixed imperforate baffle mounted in said chamber between said first and second outlets adjacent the conical portion, said baflie havinga diameter greater than the diameter of said outlets and being spaced from the wall.

of said chamber by a distance equal to at least one-tenth the dlarneter of said chamber, and said valve being movable axially of said chamber. to and from openan'd closed position between said baffle and said first outlet.

2. A centrifugal separator as defined in claim 1 in which means for actuating said valve member is mounted in fixed position between said baflle and: said first Outlet.

In this location the 'baflie serves 3. A centrifugal separator for separating solid material from a fluid suspension thereof comprising an elongated chamber having a circular cross-sectional configuration, an inlet adjacent one end of said chamber tangential to the wall thereof for introducing a stream of said fluid suspension, a first outlet for the solid material separated from said suspension at the end of said chamber opposite the inlet end, said chamber having a portion of conical configuration at the end opposite the inlet end, a trap communicating with said chamber through said first o'utlet, said trap having an exit aperture and a closure therefor, a second outlet from said chamber for fluid suspension opposite said first outlet, a valve member closing said first outlet, said valve member being movable axially of and wholly within said chamber to and from open and closed position, and a fixed imperforate bathe-mounted in said chamber between said first and second outlets adjacent the conical portion, said baffie having adiameter greater than the diameter of said first outlet andbeing spaced from the wall of said chamber by a distance equal to at least one-tenth the diameter of said chamber. I

4. A centrifugal separator as defined in claim 3 including means for flushing said trap.

5. A centrifugal separator for separating solid materialfrom a liquid suspension thereof comprising an elongated, generally cylindrical chamber having a conical extension at its lower end, an inlet adjacent the upper end of said chamber tangential to the cylindrical wall thereof for introducing a stream of said liquid suspension, a first outlet-at the apex of said conical portion for passing solid material separated from said liquid suspension, a main outlet for said liquid suspension disposed centrally of said chamber adjacent its upper end, a valve member closing said first outlet mounted within said chamber for movement axially thereof to and'from open andclosed' position, afixed bafile mounted centrally within said chamber spaced above said first outlet and said valve member adjacent said conical extension, said baffle having a diameter at least as great as said first outlet and'having its margin spaced from the wall of said chamber by a distance equal to at least one-tenth the diameter of said chamber, actuating means for moving said valve member to and from open and closed position, saidactuatingmeans being mounted in fixed position in said chamber beneath said bafiie, a trap mounted beneath said chamber and communicating therewith through- References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,748,326 Birmann Feb. 25, 1930 1,894,020 Chance Jan. 10, 1933 2,010,435 Matheson Aug. 6, 1935 2,179,919 Carr c Nov. 14, 1939 2,273,271 Kerns 'Feb. 17, 1942 2,379,411 Berges a July 3, 1945 2,521,347 Davis Sept. 5, 1950 2,648,433 Wright Aug. 11, 1953 

